Final tease before Kodiaq becomes reality

Sam Forrest

With an official launch set for Paris next month, Skoda has released new pictures of its Kodiaq SUV.

This is expected to reach the UK next spring. But Skoda’s dealers have already fielded a greater volume of enquiries about it than they have with any other vehicle in the company’s history.

The pictures confirm that the Kodiaq will be available in seven-seat form. Its 40:20:40 second row will offer a high degree of flexibility, and with this and the third row folded flat it will offer a colossal 2065 litres of stowage space.

In addition, it’s clear from the pictures that the Kodiaq will continue Skoda’s tradition of providing lengthy kit lists and high levels of build and material quality.

The big 4×4 will initially be offered with a choice of 1.4 and 2.0-litre petrol engines, the former with 123 and 148bhp power outputs. The leanest of this trio returns 47.0mpg combined.

Diesel demand will be met by a brace of 2.0 TDI units putting out 148bhp with 251lb ft and 187bhp with 295lb ft respectively. Skoda has so far announced only that the former will give you 56.5mpg and 131g/km and the latter 8.6 seconds and 130mph.

Unsurprisingly, the Kodiaq will be strong on safety and connectivity alike. All models in a three-strong model line-up are expected to get a range of semi-autonomous features including city braking, as well as a heavily featured multimedia system.

All those people who’ve been hounding dealers up to now will have to wait just a little longer to find out how much a Kodiaq will cost them, as prices are set to be announced at the Paris launch. They’re strongly tipped to start at just above £22,000, however – so we wouldn’t expect many of those would-be customers to be losing interest.